Four Turtles, a Rat and a Baby
by Gemdrive
Summary: A companion piece for Leo, the Mob and the Baby. ONESHOT. A 'what if they did keep the kid' short story, since so many asked for it. Not really much to it, just some turtles and a baby and a reminder to all mums out there of just how little sleep we all got when our kids were young and the fun they gave us on occasion.


_Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT, wish I did but I can't afford them._

_A/N: A number of people wanted me to continue Leo, the Mob and the Baby. Sadly that, to me was a standalone fic and one that, in the end resulted in them returning the child. But because so many wanted more, I wrote this shoddy companion piece. It's a oneshot, so no further chapters to come. I have enough ongoing stories to worry about and I'm not the fastest to update, lol._

_You don't need to read the aforementioned story to get this one, but if you're curious, take a peek. I suppose you could look at this as a 'day in the life of' kinda story. Blame my muse if it sucks, my hands were tied to the keyboard._

Four Turtles, a Rat and a Baby.

Leo groaned as his bedroom door flew open for the fourth time that night, he glanced at the clock beside his bed and sighed when it clearly showed he had only been asleep for just under an hour.

"Leo, your kid's crying again." Raph growled, his frustration evident.

He covered his eyes with his arm, trying desperately to ignore his grouchy brother by rolling and gracing Raph with a clear view of his shell. He heard the approach, felt the hand grip his arm and allowed his brother to flip him back around.

"I already been to her once tonight, it's your turn."

Leo frowned, blinking back the precious sleep he had been forced to leave. "I've seen to her twice, Raph. Get Don or Mike to do it."

They'd all agreed that the little life they had chosen to raise as their own would be equally cared for, taking turns whenever possible to ease the burden. For Leo, the child had latched on to him, choosing him as the sole person who could placate her. He wondered if that had more to do with him being the one who had rescued her, the tension of the event bonding her to him.

He attempted to roll back but Raph pressed more of his weight onto him, "They've tried. She ain't interested in them, not tonight. She wants Daddy."

Leo grumbled as he rolled off his bed and trudged towards his open door, scooping up his mask on the way. "Fine."

He could practically hear Raph's grin, "Hey, if it helps I'll put in a good word for ya at morning practise. I'm sure Sensei will understand if you don't show up."

"I'll be there," he muttered back. "Splinter's babysitting."

Raph raised an eye ridge, "Really? I... I thought-"

"You thought wrong," Leo replied with a yawn. "I'm grouchy, tired and not in the mood to be nice."

Raph grimaced, practise wasn't going to be pretty, that is, of course, provided they all actually manage to wake up for it.

Leo dragged his feet along the hallway, seeing the open door of the newest member of the family and hearing the faint sounds of a brother trying to placate a crying child. He wondered for a moment if anyone was actually still asleep in their home, the piercing screams coming from the little girl proved how good her lungs actually were.

As he entered the dimly lit room, he gave Don an apologetic smile and held out his hands. His brother yawned as he passed her over, rubbing at his eyes and holding out the warmed bottle.

Leo shook his head knowing that hunger wasn't the issue, he waved his brother off, quietly speaking. "Get some sleep, practice is in a few hours."

Don staggered towards the door, mumbling something about Leo running on nuclear energy and the baby being able to shatter glass. He almost bumped into the frame when he turned suddenly, "Just so you know, Mike is snoring away merrily right now," Don yawned again, leaving the rest unsaid.

Yes, Mike. The lone turtle who had managed to convince everyone that keeping the small, noisy, often smelly child was a good idea.

Don had to thoroughly research her and her late mother's background to find any relations that they could return the child to, sadly finding none apparent. They all contemplated leaving her at the hospital, or asking April to drop her off to one of her police associates. All of those options made each of them uncomfortable at the prospect of the tiny thing being placed in foster care, Mike especially wasn't happy. He had pleaded with Leo that they were far more capable of giving her a better life, that foster care took away her freedom to roam and that with them they could give her the city.

Leo, foolishly, agreed that he had a point. That in turn fuelled Mike on further, until he became almost obsessed with convincing his oldest brother that the baby would be better off with them.

Of course, the point became moot when Raph's contacts topside had some important information for him regarding the baby. He had returned home, walked straight up to Leo who was sitting on the couch with the baby in his arms and flopped down in front of him.

"Turns out the kid's Daddy is head of the mob, he killed her mom cause she was trying to keep the baby away from him."

Mike knew immediately that Raph would suddenly agree with him about keeping the baby and the option of legal protection didn't encourage any of them, the idea that the mob would find her eventually without their own kind of protection to watch over her made them nervous.

And so, with Don already converting or constructing new furniture to accommodate the new arrival; something he assured the rest of the family was only a temporary measure, (yeah, right), Leo admitted defeat.

The baby got to stay and Leo was suddenly promoted to 'Dad', apparently having been nominated by his brothers; Mike had also made a point of reminding him that she had attached to him instantly, like a newborn to its mother. When he tried to expand that joke, Leo smacked him around the head, promptly reminding Mike that if he ever referred to Leo as 'Mom' he would kick his ass across the dojo for a week.

He smiled at the memory, still to this day, unable to fathom why they couldn't all be her father in some way. After all, what was the importance of a title? If they all chose to raise her, not any one of his brothers deserved the name over another. They were all equal, all very much capable of raising her appropriately. All capable of being called 'Dad'.

He concluded that they had been a little apprehensive to take on the role, which is, in itself not a simple task. Caring for his brothers and watching out for them, protecting them was easily something Leo could and would do. He loved them more than life itself and he found, since the child had come to them, that he felt the same for her. His brothers had decided that since his mantra to protect them applied so well in their current lifestyle, he was best suited to the task of father figure.

He still thought that they were chickening out.

As the tiny form in his arms squirmed, he looked down to see her staring at him, her crying already subsiding into soft hiccups and sporadic murmuring. He reached for the blanket on the back of the rocking chair, (also made by Donatello) and clumsily draped it around his shoulders with one arm. Carefully sitting and using his foot to start a steady rocking motion, the baby cooed as he wrapped the rest of the blanket around himself. He curled his mask around his hand and offered the tail ends to her; she took them in her tiny fingers and instantly shoved her wrapped knuckles into her mouth.

He chuckled and settled back, silently admitting that the motion felt good.

He vaguely noticed her eyes flittering shut, her sounds softening then falling silent with sleep. Leo quickly joining her.

...

He felt a hand on his shoulder and groggily opened his eyes, looking up and seeing his father smiling admirably at him.

"She is quite content with you, my son." He said softly, reaching down to stroke the small child's head.

"Hmm." Leo replied sleepily.

"Remain here, I shall take care of this morning's practice."

Leo shifted, leaning up carefully with the baby and shaking his head. "That's ok, Sensei. I can do it."

Splinter chuckled, "I'm sure you can, but you are too tired. I think it best that you participate in this evening's session, once rested."

Leo couldn't argue with that, he barely had the energy to move from the chair, let alone raise his katana. He silently thanked his father and settled back down, taking the opportunity to sleep a little longer.

...

He awoke to her tiny whimpers, glancing down and seeing that she was indeed awake. He gave her cheek an affectionate rub with his thumb and stood slowly from the chair, dropping the blanket into it.

"Good morning, little one."

As if in understanding, the baby squealed in delight. Arms now free of her own blanket and bouncing up and down against her body, she wriggled in his embrace.

"You're hungry, I suppose?" He moved towards the table against the wall, lowering her on to it and proceeding to strip her of her body suit. Reaching for the supplies beneath the table, he grimaced at the smell.

"Let's clean you up first."

She squealed as he spoke, wiggling on the table and proving to Leo, yet again, that he needed eight arms for this job.

Once finished, he scooped her up and headed for the door, opening it and hearing the familiar sounds of his family. He headed for the stairs, making his way down and greeting his siblings that graced the sofa.

"Sup, Fearless?" Raph grinned, arm flung over the back of the couch and, Leo irritatingly noticed, looking quite rested.

"Leo!" Mike beamed as he sat reclined in the armchair, "Sleeping the day away, I see."

Mike stood and approached Leo, ignoring him and focusing intently on the child. "And how's my little baby boos this morning? Huh? Still as pretty as ever, ain't ya? Yes you are."

Leo rolled his eyes at him, glancing at Raph who could barely contain his laughter. He turned back to Mike, offering the baby. "Why don't you go feed her, Mike?"

"Sure!" He replied eagerly. Leo had suddenly become envious of his brother's energy.

As he disappeared into the kitchen, Leo distinctly heard Mike encouraging his surrogate daughter into peeing on Uncle Raphy; he hoped he wasn't around to see that.

One glance at Raph's relaxed position made him think twice; at least it would stop him grinning for a while.

Raph patted the sofa, "Take a load off, bro."

Leo sighed and dropped gratefully into the cushions, letting his head fall back.

"Where's Don?" He asked without glancing at his brother.

"Here." Don replied, exiting the kitchen with two mugs. He handed one to Leo, who took it with a smile of thanks. "Heard you two on the baby monitor, thought you might need it."

Leo inhaled the aroma, letting his eyes slide shut as he sipped.

"Did she settle right away?" Don asked casually.

Leo nodded, "Yeah, pretty much."

"Did you?" Leo looked at Don, whose smile graced his already tired features.

Leo returned the smile, ready to respond but cut off by his youngest brother's voice from the kitchen.

"Dude! Eww, gross!"

The three brothers rolled with laughter at the youngest's obvious discomfort.

"Leo! You're kid just barfed all over me!"

Leo smiled, immediately proud of his daughter's achievement. Revenge certainly did come in many forms.

_A/N: So random… Where am I getting this stuff from?_

_Thanks for reading x_


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